As identified in Scotland’s Marine Atlas, LINK recognises that along with fishing, climate change is one of the most widespread pressures on our marine environment. We therefore support the deployment of renewable energy technology as a vital part of the transition to a low carbon Scotland. However, given the novelty of many of these technologies, and the limited understanding of impacts and baseline conditions, we believe a precautionary approach must be adopted in order to ensure the development of the sector is sustainable , and avoids sensitive sites for wildlife. There will be many ‘unknowns’, including development scale and device type, which may make assessment of the Plan particularly challenging. We will therefore be seeking robust mitigation measures, including thorough monitoring programmes, to address these uncertainties. In particular, the assessment must include consideration of the ability to monitor, understand and mitigate cumulative impacts over the wider region.